Passing Tilbury downriver 21/3/81 with a full cargo of London's sewage destined to be dumped in the estuary at Barrow Deep.

These so-called "Bovril Boats" were so ubiquitous on the Thames that no-one bothered much with photos of them. However, since the 1990s they have all disappeared, due to EU rules banning the dumping of waste at sea

My father was, and still is, a fisherman. i used to occassionally go long-lining with him in the Barrow Deeps. we used to dread seeing these vessels coming. It was never a nice experience pulling the lines afte they had pumped out on top of them. It's good to see one of them again.